Benny Blanco has been lambasted by fans after a 'tone deaf' interview with Barry Keoghan. Barry, 33, opened up about his battle with drugs, his mother's fatal overdose and his own near-death experience during a candid chat on Benny's podcast, Friends Keep Secrets. Yet an Instagram reel promoting the episode was cut together in rapid form, distorting Barry's voice for comic effect, and ending with an upbeat Benny laughing and saying 'wow, let's go outside and talk about something fun!'
The clip began with Benny, who is Selena Gomez's husband, asking: 'Did you used to do drugs?' to which Barry replied: 'Yeah, yeah, that's why I'm clean now... 2.5 years. On paper, my mum died at 32 from [heroin] and my dad passed away. But the curiosity of still wanting to do this for me, it took me three attempts of rehab.'
The clip then cut to Barry saying: 'I technically did die for a few seconds', as co-host Lil Dicky asked: 'Did you have, like a moment of post-death vision?' At this point, the clip distorted and dream sequence music began to play as Barry explained that he had a vision of a blonde woman walking away from him as he tried to catch up with her. Barry's voice was then distorted as he continued: 'And on this side there was loads of lads stabbing me. I was holding onto them and they were trying to push me over to this side and I was begging them that I could stay. I was like, please let me stay, and they were like, alright, let them stay.'
At this point, the music cut off and the camera panned to Benny saying: 'wow, let's go outside and talk about something fun' before laughing with Lil Dicky. Taking to the comment section, fans were left in shock, penning: 'This clip really is a disservice to the story Barry was telling in the episode. This “reel-ifying” everything for the sake of “content” is really kind of depressing.'; 'Let’s not try to change the subject when things get personal. What he’s talking about is way bigger than any joke or quick laugh. I love this show, but you gotta let people have their moment to get deep when they're willing, because the amount of people in the world it will help is far more important than simply entertainment.'; 'maybe next time let’s validate someone when they choose to be vulnerable… especially when men decide to be vulnerable.'; 'Just a sprinkle of toxic positivity to keep the vibe right'; 'I thought I could never hate Benny, but this one was hard.'; 'Ffs. Tone deaf. Some people really have no idea how hard it is to overcome addiction. And moments like this shouldn't be dismissed for the sake of a laugh or shock value. Addiction is a real epidemic in this country.'
Barry has long been open about his struggles with addiction and his traumatic childhood that saw him move around 13 foster homes. The Saltburn star grew up in Summerhill, in the beating heart of Dublin, alongside his mother Debbie, who was a heroin addict, and brother Eric. Very little is known about his father. A constant battle with addiction left Debbie unable to care for her children and at aged five, Barry and his younger brother were sent into foster care for seven years. Later, Barry and Eric were able to move in with their aunt, Lorraine Keoghan, and his cousin, whom Barry describes as 'a sister' to him. There in Summerhill, Lorraine took charge of raising the three children, taking a job as a cleaner in a pub to pay the bills and support the family.
A world away from his new life stepping onto red carpets in designer regalia, Barry's hometown Summerhill is renowned for being a criminal hub rife with drugs and gang violence. One incident in 2022 in which a gang attacked a Deliveroo cyclist, has left drivers refusing to take orders from the crime-riddled area. Lorraine then adopted Barry but he remained close to his mother, visiting her daily. However, when Barry was just 12, he received the earth-shattering news that his mother had died. She was 31 years old. After many years of battling addiction, Debbie fell victim to pneumonia, septicemia and hepatitis. Barry has described the moment as 'worst day of his life', but admitted the experience made him stronger as a result. Speaking to JOE, he said: 'I remember it, it wasn't nice. It's not ever nice, kids being taken from their parents.'
